


When Jared was ill in bed

by rethrin



Series: Many Times Peter and Jared Cuddled [9]
Category: Franklin & Bash
Genre: Illnesses, M/M, Pre-Slash, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-10
Updated: 2011-08-10
Packaged: 2017-11-11 08:30:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/476609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rethrin/pseuds/rethrin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>In case it's not completely obvious I couldn't be bothered to research an illness that would lead to bed rest while not being a really awful close-to-death thing.  So I made one up.</p></blockquote>





	When Jared was ill in bed

Jared was ill for months, run down, tired, caught every virus going. He thought it was just college taking its toll, they were in their second year and the work was constant, the hours long. But when they went home for Christmas break his mom made him see a doctor, and he was diagnosed with a variant of covane disease. Nobody seemed to know much about how to cure it, or what would work best, but eventually he was sentenced to three months' bed rest to boost his immune system, the doctors reassuring him that he was likely to be good as new after that. 

For the first month he wasn't even allowed visitors. His mom let Peter come and say goodbye to him from the doorway, he was on his way back to college for the new term. Peter joked about him being lazy and Jared joked back, but their smiles didn't reach their eyes and Peter had to leave without even touching him. 

Peter wrote him a letter every day and rang him every evening. Twice on weekends. Jared tried not to expect it, because he knew how busy Peter was, and he had other friends. But every morning there was a new letter, not much to say because they spoke every day, but Peter wrote to him during lectures, doodles and daydreams. Often a few polaroids of their other friends or something. Very occasionally a picture of Peter himself. 

Then, on the thirty-first day Jared woke up with Peter sitting on the bed next to him, smiling. He wanted desperately to act cool, but he was reaching up to take him into a tight hug before he even thought about it. 

"Hey."

"Hey."

Peter wasn't meant to be here til the weekend, it was Wednesday, he should be in con law right now. Jared loved that he wasn't.

He lay back down, knew he was grinning, and Peter stroked his arm. 

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"Wanted to surprise you. How you doing?"

"Awful. Mom's been talking to Colleen again about cures and supplements. Yesterday my lunch was chickpea salad and clay."

"Clay's not that bad."

It was hard to get sympathy from Peter about alternative remedies. He'd lived through them all.

"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, doctors say I'm doing okay."

"Cool." Peter squeezed Jared's arm, stroked him. Then started pulling the bedcovers out of his way, but Jared moved them back firmly.

"What are you doing?"

"C'mon, I haven't seen you for _weeks_. I just want..."

Jared glanced at the door. "We can't. Mom's in here every two minutes, fussing."

"She's on the phone. And anyway she'll give us some time alone to catch up." 

It wasn't Peter's words that convinced him so much as the way his fingers stroked into Jared's hair, his thumb brushing over his forehead. Jared moved back a little and let Peter lie down. Peter scooped his arm under him and lay right up close. Jared breathed him in and only just managed not to moan with happiness. Fuck he'd missed this.

"Missed this," Peter murmured into his hair, and Jared wriggled, pleased. 

They'd only started sharing a bed a few months ago. Eventually it had just been easier than pretending they didn't want to. They were sharing a room anyway, so nobody had to know, and they didn't have to talk about it. Sometimes Peter kissed Jared's forehead when he said goodnight. Sometimes Jared's hand worked its way under Peter's t-shirt and pressed into the skin at the small of Peter's back. Sometimes they woke up hard against each other, and they just ignored it. Sometimes Peter kissed him good morning as well.

They talked for a while, going over things they'd already told each other, pressed closely against each other, warm and soft. The words didn't matter, when they ran out they just lay quietly, neither of them embarrassed about wanting this. 

Eventually Jared felt his eyes dropping, and Peter noticed him trying to fight it.

"Sleep. Your mom'll kill me if I keep you awake," he said, stroking Jared's back.

"I sleep all the time."

Peter nodded, but settled him into the pillow anyway. "S'good for you."

Jared lifted to let Peter get up. "You'll come back later, though?" He stopped because Peter wasn't moving.

"I'll stay, you won't be asleep that long will you?" he said softly.

"Oh. No, just an hour or so." Jared smiled hard and long. But he put his hand on Peter's chest, pushing lightly. "You can't stay _here_ , though, mom'll see."

"I'll get up in a minute."

Jared looked at him, half wanting to argue. But he gave up, let Peter kiss him, soft on his temple, and he was asleep in seconds. When he woke up he was still in Peter's arms, head resting on his shoulder. 

And his mom was talking. 

"I'll just leave this here. Do try to make him drink it when he wakes up, it does help."

"Will do, Mrs F." 

"Thank you, Peter. You call me if either of you need anything, okay?"

Peter stroked through Jared's hair and said that he would.

Jared held himself perfectly still, just having her see them like this was awful enough. He had no wish to actually look at her or talk to her while he was _in bed_ with Peter.

"And you won't... you remember what I said earlier..."

"Absolutely. I wouldn't do anything to hurt him," Peter said firmly. 

His mom must have nodded or something, because Jared heard her leave quietly so as not to wake him. He waited until he was sure she was gone.

"What the fuck?" he hissed, glaring up at Peter. "What was that?"

"Don't be mad, okay?" Jared's face gave absolutely no promise not to be mad about this. "I sort of told her we were together."

Jared just stared. Long enough, and blankly enough, that Peter half laughed. "Don't freak out. She won't let me stay if you have some sort of break down." 

Jared took deep breaths then pushed Peter away a little, his eyebrows furrowed, his hands fluttering just a bit. "Together, like . . . _together_?"

Peter shrugged. "Yeah. We talked about it this morning."

"You told my mom I was gay?"

"No. Well yeah. I suppose."

Peter was still smiling, and his hands were still gentle on Jared's back, his side, and Jared hadn't seen him for a whole month. He was finding it hard to concentrate on how terrible this really was. He looked over his shoulder at the closed door, at the drink his mom had left on the side.

"Why isn't she freaking out?"

"Said she'd figured it out years ago."

Jared gaped at him again and Peter grinned. 

"But I'm... we're not..."

"I know. But it doesn't matter. She said she'd let me stay here tonight, said you'd been missing me." 

Peter smiled, and sounded a good part smug about that, but Jared didn't care. Peter was allowed to stay in his bed. He smiled despite himself, that was good. It was confusing as hell. But good.

"And she won't tell your dad." 

A whole new layer of why this was terrible presented itself to Jared, and his face fell again, made Peter grin.

"Dude, calm down." Peter stroked him again, pressing gently. "It wasn't my fault, she cornered me soon as I got here. She said she'd never been sure if we were... you know. But that if I was here as your... as your boyfriend or whatever," he dipped his head and mumbled, "Then I wasn't allowed to kiss you. Or... anything."

Jared turned into his pillow to hide, that was so far away from a conversation it was okay for his mom to have with Peter. With anyone. But especially with Peter.

"It's okay," Peter said. And it was half reassuring, but half apologetic too. "I told her we wouldn't do anything. But... I asked if I was allowed to hug you, and she just assumed that we were... And I didn't say we weren't. It didn't think it mattered. When you're better and come back to college we can break up. It's not a big deal."

Jared sighed into his pillow. Peter's fingers stroked his shoulder, urging him to be okay about it. 

"You're going to break up with me?" he asked, grumpy, and he felt Peter smile, relieved he was joking with him.

"Soon as you're better. It would be cold to split with you while you were sick."

He nodded, and moved close to Peter again, cuddled him for a minute, agreeing silently that he was going to let his mom think Peter Bash was his _boyfriend_. Because she didn't seem to mind. And because it was better than not having him here. And because Peter didn't seem to mind. And because it felt kind of nice sort of maybe.

**Author's Note:**

> In case it's not completely obvious I couldn't be bothered to research an illness that would lead to bed rest while not being a really awful close-to-death thing. So I made one up.


End file.
